The Start
by shinju-nozomi
Summary: The beginning to the story of a life of a girl named Kokoro Hitomi during the shinobi wars.
1. A New Mission

The Start

_**The Start**_

**Chapter 1: A New Mission**

_By: Shinju Nozomi_

Her name is Kokoro Hitomi. She is born on April 24th to two loyal shinobi parents during the war. Everything was expected out of her and everything she would give. She would live to

become a great shinobi just like her parents but her life holds some unusual twists...

Hitomi sat atop the high cut stump of a tree. She would sometimes sit there for ours meditating trying to find peace within herself. Her blue eyes scanned the horizon as she sat deep in

thought. It didn't matter to her what she thought about or what happened when she was out there just as long as she had peace. There were times she had to get away from her

parents and their expectations, demands, and the pressure they put on her. Hitomi jumped off the stump and ran a little ways through the trees before she had to bend over while

coughing and heaving up the contents of her stomach. When she was finished she stood up and continued to run again acting like it was nothing. To her, throwing up was a normal thing

as was the extreme amounts of stress that caused it. She sighed, thinking about how her parents would yell at her when she got home for being late. Though this was one of the rare

days they would be home since they fought in the war so much. Hitomi loved her parent's a lot and she knew they loved her, they just expected too much out of her from her point of

view. The time passed as she kept running and finally rounded the corner to her home. She could see already though that her father had set up training drills for after dinner. "I can never

do enough for them", she mumbled to herself.

Hitomi tried to eat slowly at dinner to let some her food digest but it didn't help. She ended up throwing up again during her training and went to bed with an empty stomach. She laid in

her bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering when her parents would be leaving again, she turned her head to the side looking around her room and saw her small stuffed bunny from

when she was little, hiding in the corner. She crawled out of her bed to get it and hugged it tightly. "You'll always love me even if I fail, right Bunny?" she said to it. She stared down at its

little brown eyes and pinkish-white fur as if waiting for a response before hugging it again and taking it back to bed with her. She laid there in silence before bursting into tears and crying

herself to sleep again just like the night before.

When morning came the house was silent and empty and Hitomi realized her parents had left again to go fight without saying goodbye. She assumed they thought it was better this

way so it wouldn't be as painful. She quickly ate some food, showered, and got dressed before heading out. Today she walked through the village doing the weekly shopping for her

parents to get food and other things they needed. Hitomi loved the village because people were always out and happy while the smell of the food from nearby restaurants filled the air

and children ran and played. It was a beautiful sunny day and Hitomi couldn't help but feel a little bit of optimism. Suddenly a flash a red flew by her in excitement. She turned around to

see a boy with bright red hair annoying people. She sighed and shook her head before walking over to her teammate Hajime. He quickly turned around and leaped onto Hitomi. "Hitomi"!

Where've you been?" he shouted. "I was just shopping a bit", Hitomi replied while trying to push Hajime off of her. "Oh", he said "Did your parents leave again"? "Yes and I would

appreciate it if you helped me carry some of this stuff", she said while finally managing to push him off of her. "Oki Doki", Hajime replied happily. Hitomi sighed wondering how he could

always be so cheerful, watching him as he skipped down the road as she walked beside him. She gave him a funny look but then shook her head and looked at the sky again smiling as

the sunshine hit her face, hoping today would continue to be a good day. "By the way, I almost forgot to mention it". Hajime said as he turned and looked at Hitomi. "We have a new

mission we have to start on immediately". Hitomi stared at him for a moment before saying, "Well then let's hurry up so we can meet the others". Hajime glanced at her, "You seemed

stressed". He said with concern. "This is probably our first big mission compared to all the other small things we've been doing". She said. "But don't worry about it, I'll be fine". She said

turning to Hajime with a smile.

"You both are late". Shouted their sensei, "It's my fault and I apologize, Miho sensei", said Hitomi as they walked out of the village. "What exactly are we doing"? Said Kayo, Hitomi's

other teammate. "We are going to a village in the earth country to watch over supplies that is being brought to Konoha", said Miho. "Oh! Supplies, what kind of supplies!?" said Hajime

with great anticipation. "That is not important at the moment", laughed Miho, as they walked along the path. "Do you think there could be enemy shinobi who will attack us"? Asked Kayo,

wide-eyed, Miho smiled and said "There might be". Hitomi let out a deep sigh, thinking of what might happen if they were to be attacked and what these 'supplies' really were. She sighed

again looking at the sky and mumbling to herself "Oh well I guess I'll see when we get there".


	2. The Earth Country

The Start

_**The Start**_

**Chapter 2: The Earth Country**

_By: Shinju Nozomi_

"Finally", said Kayo, we're actually here now. "Not quite", said Miho, "Well, at least we've made it to the earth country so far". They all sighed wondering how much longer they would have to walk until they got to the village.

About an hour later they finally spotted a village on the horizon. They slowly made their way in and stopped to eat. Hitomi glanced around where they were and looked at Miho. Miho caught her stare and stared back as if to say "Yes, I know they are all staring at us". They all quickly gulped down their food and left. "Why are they staring at us?" Hitomi whispered to Miho as they were walking. "Probably because we are shinobi from another country", she said, "Just relax, you don't want them to see that they are making you anxious". When they finally approached the largest building in the village a guard stopped them as they were trying to enter. Hitomi, Hajime, and Kayo all looked at each other confused as Miho whispered something to the guard and he let them pass. They finally got inside where they saw an old man sitting behind a large table. He stood and walked forward while pulling something out of his sleeve. "I admire your courage" was all he said while handing an envelope to Miho. At that Miho turned around and told her group they were leaving. Hitomi, Hajime, and Kayo all stared at each other completely confused.

All of them kept quiet until they were out of the village before they could all no longer take it, "What was that all about?" they all shouted at Miho. Miho stared at them before responding "This is the supplies we are to watch over". "That's it?" said Hajime, "Jeez, I was hoping for something more exciting". Kayo sighed seeming relieved that this would be an easy mission but Hitomi just stared at Miho. Something didn't seem right to her but she didn't know what. "Come on I'll race you all back to Konoha" said Miho.

When they arrived back in Konoha, Miho told her group that she would report back to the Hokage herself and that they were allowed to do as they pleased unless told otherwise. "Hey Hitomi, we're going to get some barbeque, want to join?" Hajime said after Miho left. "Uh, sure", said Hitomi while following them.

They all sat in mostly silence while they ate until Hajime broke the silence. "You know that was a pretty boring mission", he said while stuffing his face with food, "I thought it was going to be more exciting". "I think we're lucky it wasn't", said Hitomi. "What do you mean?" asked Kayo. "I think there's something going on we don't know about", said Hitomi, "That was all too strange the way that guy said 'I admire your courage' and gave that envelope to Miho sensei". "Then we seemed to leave as soon as we got there and Miho sensei saying she'd race us back to Konoha didn't seem right either". "Do you think she was trying to get back here as soon as possible?" asked Kayo. "It's always a possibility", said Hitomi, "Something just seemed off about the whole thing as soon as we got there". "Yea, and the way they kept staring at us", said Hajime. "We should probably keep a careful watch on things for the next few days and make sure your guard is up on our next mission", said Hitomi, "We don't know what to expect". Kayo looked at her a bit worried about what was going on and they all exchanged glances before paying for their food. "I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow for training", said Kayo. "Yea…I'll see ya", said Hitomi as she walked away. "I'll walk home with you Kayo", Hitomi heard Hajime say as their voices grew faint. She was alone now but she was used to it. Of course her parents had gone to fight again so they wouldn't be home, so Hitomi took her time getting there thinking over everything that had happened on their mission, if there was something she had missed. When she got home the last thing she remembered was collapsing on her bed from exhaustion and falling asleep.


	3. War

The Start

_**The Start**_

**Chapter 3: War**

_By: Shinju Nozomi_

Hitomi watched the leaves softly flutter to the ground as the wind whipped through her hair. She closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of nature combined with the clashing kunai of her teammates that were training nearby. Her blue eyes opened, glancing around at her surroundings, "Where is sensei, it's not like her to be late" she said to herself. All too soon after did the brown haired jounin appear after to start their training. "Sensei where were you?" asked Kayo with concern. "I'm sorry" she said with somewhat of a smile, "I had a quick meeting to run to, I would have let you all know but there was no time". Hitomi glanced at Miho wondering if the meeting had anything to do with their mission last week. "Oh ok then we understand" said Hajime with a grin. "Alright then, now to start your training" said Miho.

After training, Hitomi's team all went to get barbeque. This was a typical day for all of them, always arguing about whose turn it was to pay for the food. Kayo and Hajime had stopped worrying about what happened on the mission, by this time a week had gone by and nothing had happened. Something about it though still rested in the back of Hitomi's mind though she tried to forget about it. "Oh well" she said under her breath while getting up to leave, leaving the rest of her team to figure out who was going to pay.

She walked slowly along the road thinking to herself, barely noticing she was almost running into people. She was walking to her usual place, a spot in the forest, where she would sit and meditate or think things over. When she finally looked up though she saw someone she had never seen before. Still in the clearing before the trees, was a young blonde haired boy, not much older than Hitomi. He was training by himself and looked exhausted. She watched him until she saw him fall to the point where he could barely push himself up. "Hey" she said walking over to him, "You need some help"? He looked up at her in surprise as though he didn't know she was watching him half the time. He slowly nodded his head yes and Hitomi bent down, putting one of his arms around her shoulders, and pulled him up. He was taller than Hitomi and by a lot it looked like from the way he slouched. "If you can make it", she said, "My house isn't far from here". The boy glanced at her before nodding his head yes again and they began walking.

When they got to Hitomi's house, she quickly sat the boy down in a chair in her kitchen. He winced as if in pain and Hitomi saw a large bruise on his side and sighed. She went and got some ice for him, at first he refused but Hitomi glared at him making him change his mind. She also went and quickly got some food and water for him. It seemed as though he hadn't eaten in days from the way he ate so quickly.

After he was finished Hitomi noticed he was taking his time to look around her kitchen before his gaze eventually fell on her. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'm sorry you had to go through this trouble for me". "Oh, don't worry about it", said Hitomi, "I hardly have visitors and my parents are almost never home, so having company doesn't bother me that much". "Oh", he said with some surprise, "So do your parents fight in the war too"? Hitomi looked up at him before saying, "Yea they do". "I see", he said, "If you're wondering what I was doing out there training so hard, it's because I really want to become a special jounin so I can fight in the war too". "Why do you want to fight in the war?" Hitomi asked. "I think it would be an honor to fight as a shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato (Hidden Leaf Village) in the war just like my parents" he said without hesitation. Hitomi looked at him strangely; she didn't understand how he might actually 'like' the war for that matter alone. Before she could say anything though he started talking again, "People tell me I'm too young because I'm only 16 but I don't think so" he said. "I may only be a chuunin but as soon as I become a special jounin I'm going to fight". "And between you and me", he said, "I heard that something's happening in Iwagakure, that they were going to try and attack us or take us out". "Also, I heard that a civil war might break out in the earth country because not everyone agrees on what they're doing". Hitomi's eye widened more with each word he spoke. Could it be? She thought to herself. No she thought, we're only genin, they wouldn't have sent us for that. Or maybe, she thought, they sent genin to get information on the earth countries actions because we didn't seem like a threat? Hitomi's head was spinning and while sitting there thinking, she almost forgot the boy was sitting right in front of her. "Are you alright?" he asked. "Yea, I'm fine" Hitomi replied. "Well," he said while getting up, "I should be going, thanks though for your help". "It's no problem" Hitomi said, "I hope you become a special jounin soon". "Thanks" he said, "and oh, I almost forgot, I'm Hiro Isao". Hitomi had almost forgot he they hadn't told each other their names. "I'm Kokoro Hitomi" she said with a smile. "Well Hitomi" he said smiling back, "Thanks for your help, I'll see ya".

After Isao had left Hitomi's mind raced back to what he had said about Iwagakure. Was it true or not? Could her group have gone on that mission for that reason? There were too many questions but she couldn't ask her sensei. If it was true and Miho found out she knew, too many problems would arise from it. Hitomi decided to keep these thoughts to herself. She would just have to wait and see what would happen, no matter how impatient she was.


	4. Friends

The Start

_**The Start**_

**Chapter 4: Friends**

_By: Shinju Nozomi_

She panted, running all over Konoha looking for Kayo and Hajime. Hitomi hadn't seen them in almost a week because she had stayed at her house training everyday. Kayo and Hajime were probably Hitomi's only two real friends. She needed some sort of human interaction, to talk to someone but she couldn't find them. Just as she was about to give up she spotted Kayo carrying flowers with her mother. "Hey Kayo", Hitomi shouted, "you want to do something". "Not now Hitomi I'm busy helping my mom today, maybe tomorrow". Hitomi stopped walking and said "Oh…ok then". She ran back over to where she had been suddenly spotting Hajime and racing towards him. "Hey Hajime want to play a game?" she said. "Uh, no thanks" he said while rolling up some magazine and tucking it in his shirt. "What's that" said Hitomi pointing to it. "Uh nothing" he said while quickly throwing it to one of his friends. Hitomi frowned watching the other boy excitedly run off with it. Hajime started to run after him before saying "Sorry Hitomi not today".

Hitomi sighed, feeling defeated and slowly walked to a ramen shop to eat. She glanced at the people around her laughing and joking with their friends and family. She picked at her food before eventually just eating it as fast as she could and leaving. A large mountain in the distance looked down upon her and gave Hitomi an idea of something to do as she started to walk towards it.

By the time she got to the base of the mountain Hitomi felt like laying down and going to sleep. She kept walking though pushing herself, she slowly climbed the mountain. After almost an hour of staring at the ground as she walked, Hitomi lazily looked around and noticed a rather large stream with large rocks surrounding it nearby. She walked towards it and got a drink, she stared at her reflection for a minute not knowing what to think, her mind was completely blank.

After she stood up Hitomi jumped on top of one of the rocks and began hopping from one to the other. A loud crack and Hitomi's eyes widened as she began falling off the side of what was like a cliff before coming to an abrupt stop and realizing she hadn't hit the ground. She blinked a few times before looking around and seeing she was in the arms of a blonde haired boy. Her mouth dropped a little not knowing what to say, she was completely in shock that he was even there. He sat her down and said "You should be more careful next time Hitomi". She stared at him dumbfounded before uttering his name, "Hiro Isao".

He looked at her and smiled a childish grin; one that almost reminded her of Hajime's, it made them look like they were always happy and they didn't have a care in the world. "How you did…when did you…why are you…." Hitomi couldn't seem to get full questions out of her mouth. "I don't know", he said, "I was training up here and I often come here because I love the view". "I guess its just chance that you showed up and I was here to save you from falling". All of the sudden he started laughing, it was a different laugh, one that Hitomi would remember. "Why are you laughing"? She said. "The look on your face right now is hilarious", he said while trying to stop laughing. Hitomi's face got flushed, she was embarrassed and also didn't know what to think or say. By the time Isao calmed down the sun was starting to set. "Hey, I'll walk you back down" offered Isao. Hitomi just nodded her head before saying "Since you come up here all the time you probably know your way down anyways unlike me". Isao smiled.

So they walked and talked and by the time they got back to Konoha, Isao had convinced Hitomi to meet him tomorrow after her training to eat. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then" said Isao with a smile. "Yeah" said Hitomi staring at him wondering why she had agreed. "Well, goodnight Hitomi" he said before running off in the other direction. Hitomi started walking back home thinking about what had happened today and how she was still shocked she had seen Isao again. After a long minute or two she smiled thinking she now had another friend. She didn't have to depend on Hajime or Kayo anymore and Isao was much different than them. She had a new friend that was somehow easy to make and she was happy about it.


End file.
